Any recommendations on bike choice for the 70.3 Worlds in Nice this Sep?
Have a TT Trek speed concept which I’m super comfortable with and a Tarmac SLR 7 road bike.
If I was going again, I’d probably take the road bike. Everyone is going to say the TT is faster, and on the flats you’ll pay for it if you have the road bike. But if you like attacking hills and descending it’s just simply going to be more fun with the road bike.
If you’re really racing for place, you’d probably be right to take the TT. Otherwise go have fun on the road bike.
Besides you’ll probably be riding at ~7m on most flats anyway!
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I listened to the advice here in 2019 and went with TT and immediately regretted it upon driving the course. Finished 2nd in AG. Am racing road bike with clip ons this year.
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I made my decision based on brakes. My TT still has rim brakes but the road bike has disc brakes. The Nice descent is no joke and I feel more comfortable with disc brakes. So I am using a road bike in Nice. That being said, if you are comfortable descending on your Speed Concept (and if it has disc brakes) it is the right choice since about 2/3 of the bike course is either rolling or downhill. That 1/3 uphill climb is brutal but it should be doable in a Speed Concept and worth the bit of extra weight on the climbs. IMO.
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Timely. My hand is forced by the fact that I only have a gravel bike as my second bike. And, I basically never ride it. I also have no chance at the speed of my descent making much of a difference that anybody would care - including me.
I am tempted to borrow a 2022 Emonda climbing bike I sold to a guy, but it seems like a lot of hassle given I’m comfortable on my TT (Speedmax).
That’s a real photo of your bike sucking your soul on the climb in Nice.
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I personally use my CX bike as a road bike. Just put a pair of 25 mm tires and it’s a road bike with a little more space under the frame and fork.
Given the absolute blessing that drop bars are on a long (semi-)technical descent, that’s probably the one I would’ve gone with unless I was racing for an AG podium or sth.
I do the same thing, as incredibly rare as that is for me to use the gravel bike as a road bike.
Both bikes are mechanical 11 speed, so I could even swap over the bigger chainring and cassette etc… I have a lot of time to decide. I am equally as comfortable descending on both bikes, but overall more comfortable on the TT bike since I use that one all the time. I used the TT bike last year in Marbella. Both are disk brake bikes. They weigh about the same.
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Ditto above… I decided to ride my road bike this time. There is little opportunity to ride in aero, so that is not a huge difference maker. It is a long but steady climb up and then a switchback decent down. When you get close to the end, you are not supposed to be in aero. So, a road bike is the better fit. I am not even bothering with extensions on the road bike.
Thanks. Tempted to use my TT too since I’m always riding it. Have 52/36 crank and 11-34 cassette.
I did IM WC in 2023 and rode p5 disc TT bike. I thought it was the right choice cause that had more flat and descends well. However the descents were quite bumpy w road furniture( which actually knocked off brake lever) The airlines also lost my bike until day before race. So how much watts you lose with more stress. I am going this year and thus far have rented a lapierre road bike with TT bars. I think the biggest pain is figuring out the storage( bta , adding water bottle to back- any ideas that dont cost a lot?) .its likely to be slower but at least more fun to ride the week of.
Storage is something I realized is a headache for a road bike. I have a front mounted system I refill on my TT bike, two bottle rear storage I’ve used a ton of times, a bento, snd frame bottle cages if I want . Quite the headache of a sport we have going here.
I need an AI robot to deal with all this already
I’ve ridden the course several times on a road bike and always appreciated the comfort and light weight for the climb and the drop bars and hands on the brakes for the hairpins on the descent. The portions of the course where you wish your had your TT bike are much fewer than most 70.3 courses.